HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-03 Transcription Page 1
Council Present: Alter,Bergus,Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas,Weiner
Staff Present: Jones,Kilburg, Goers,Fruehling,Platz,Laverman,Havel, Seydell-
Johnson,Welter, Sitzman
Teague: All right. It is at- it is 06:00 PM, and I'm going to call the City of Iowa City formal
meeting to order for Oc-, for October 3, 2022. Roll call,please. [Roll Call]
2. Proclamation
2.a. Fire Prevention Week
Teague: Well,welcome everyone. We are going to move on to item number 2.a,which is Fire
Prevention Week. (reads proclamation)And to receive this today is Fire Marshal Brian
Greer. So we'll welcome him at this time. [APPLAUSE]
Greer: Thank you sir. Suppose I should probably speak a little bit here on this. Uh, Fire
Prevention Week was started by the National Fire Protection Association in 1922 to
commemorate the Great Chicago Fire that occurred on,um, in 1871 on the 9th of that-
that,um, of- of October. So they've-historically, and had a-Fire Prevention Week is- is
on the week that has the 9th in it. So in 1925,President Calvin Coolidge,he actually
proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance,which makes it the longest
running public health observance in the country. So that's-that's kind of neat there too.
And what-what we heard in the proclamation,there's a few things that-that I'd like to
just talk about. The-the theme for this year is "Fire Won't Wait--Plan Your Escape. So
things that we want to make sure of is work with your family or the people you live with
to try to make a plan on how to get out of the house in case there was a fire. I actually
was at a fire yesterday,just across from my house in North Liberty, so I mean,was
woken up and people know I'm on the fire department, so they-you know, I had to go
over and assist a little bit with- there, and fortunately,the-the person that was in the
house was able to get out. Um,but it- it's something that when-when you get in a- in a
fire, it is really dark. It's the smoke is- is really bad for you and- and just a- a few breaths
of it and- and sometimes it's heated as well, it can be disastrous. So make sure you have a
plan and-that you can-you can get out of the house. Once you're out of the house,have a
meeting place. You want to be able to have accountability for the people that are with
you. So we'll do that. Smoke alarms. I hope everybody has those. You know, check those
every month. Push the little test button on it, make sure it works. If they're older than 10
years old,you-you might have to pull them down to look at the bottom to see the date
they should be replaced. And know-know two ways out of every room, if it's your
bedroom, obviously the door is the-the primary way. If- if that's blocked or you feel heat
out there,you have a window to get out of. Always look for two ways to get out, and you
know make sure you practice some of this stuff too, especially if you've got younger kids,
just make sure that-that you can get them out and be safe. Other than that,thank you all
for what you do and- and hopefully you'll stay fire safe. And- and I think that's really all I
have.
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Teague: Thank you.
Greer: Thank you.
Teague: Thank you so much and thanks to you and all of the firemen and our-the fire staff that
work. Yes. Thank you.
Greer: Yeah, and the other thing is we're starting back into the schools next week. We usually
have a little skit or a show. So each of the- each of the elementaries,K through three, are
gonna get the opportunity to see that live again. The last two years, it was all virtual and
it didn't quite touch as much as it should have. So this should be good to get back to
somewhat normal.
Teague: Yes.
Greer: All right. Thank you.
2.b. Indigenous Peoples Day
Teague: Thank you so much. All right, we're going to move on to item number 2.b,which is
Indigenous Peoples Day. (reads proclamation)And to receive this,um, I understood that
we had someone online to receive this,but I don't see [BACKGROUND] Um, so Sikowis
Nobiss, if you are present online,please raise your hand. I don't see her,but she is the
founder and executor- and the Executive Director of the Great Plains Action Society,who
was a part of the indigenous community and just thank her for all that she does within our
community and through her organization.
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3—7 Consent Agenda
Teague: We will move on to items number 3 through 7,which is our consent agenda. Can I get a
motion to approve please?
Weiner: So move,Weiner.
Taylor: Second, Taylor.
Teague: Moved by Weiner, seconded by Taylor, and I'm gonna invite uh-Juli Seydell Johnson to
just talk about one item from here which is 6.f. and 6.f. that title is Mercer Park ball fields
and courts. Welcome.
Seydell-Johnson: Great. So what this uh- action will do is start the process on public
improvements next summer at Mercer baseball fields and the Mercer pickleball courts,
tennis courts and hopefully City Park tennis courts. The funding for the project is the
2023 CIP project. There's 950,000 for the baseball field complex and 175 originally
placed in there for the City Park tennis courts. As we've gotten through the Recreation
Facilities and Program Master Plan,uh-we've really been uh- getting a lot of feedback
about the pickleball courts at Mercer, so we are shifting some of the focus to also include
the-those courts. Uh-the baseball improvements,things like fencing, lighting,playability
of the fields,but then also work to the kind of the plaza concessions, fan- fan area in the
middle of the fields,uh-potentially realigning field number 4. I have to tell you that our
list of potential wants for this project is much larger than the budget, so what this will do
once we get our- our consultant on board is start our stakeholder meetings,both with uh-
the school district,the baseball associations,the pickleball players,tennis enthusiasts,to
prioritize which things get done. Um-meaning,there'll be some done on each of these
areas,but the amount done on each may vary a little bit. For the pickleball courts
specifically at Mercer,we're well aware of the cracking on the courts, and believe that
that will probably take a full- a full replacement of this underground surfacing there.
Now, it probably does not do enough to add a roof over the top or some of the other
amenities that the pickleball players have asked for,but we will be talking with them and
working with them on- in potentially some fundraising or some other things for site
furnishings and that sort of thing. Same with the baseball fields. The list is much longer
than probably what the budget will accomplish, so we will look at things for safety,
playability, energy efficiency,um- fan experience,those kind of things, accessibility
paths fust, and then work our way down the list with those. Does that answer? Okay.
Harmsen: Quick question on the pickleball courts. Um- so is that actual repairs or replacement or
whatever would that be next summer or the summer after?
Seydell-Johnson: So this money is for the construction year of 2023. So our hope is to get
through the-the stakeholder meetings and design and bid it out January,February, and so
it'd be construction next summer, early fall, and the baseball season we'll dictate some of
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that. But similar of what we just talked about with other projects, if we can couple those
together into one contract, I think that will be better.
Harmsen: Thank you.
Teague: Any other questions for staff? Thank you,Julie. All right. Anyone from the public who
would like to address a topic that is on our consent agenda? If you're online,please raise
your hand. If you're in person,please step to the podium. Seeing no one, council
discussion.
Taylor: I just had a quick comment about,um- 6.b.,the lobbyists if that, if this would be an
appropriate time to do that. Um-we had in the past taken some time, I think in a work
session,to talk about topics that we would like the lobbyists to follow up on and so I'd
like us to maybe keep that in mind and schedule a time, a work session to- if- if we have
some, especially you Janice, if we have some of those topics that we want the lobbyists to
keep an eye on and our legislatures to keep an eye on. And on that note,there was a list in
there about their-their scope of services and it meant regularly communicating uh-with
the City, and I'm not sure whether, did they do that?Did they talk to uh-the City
Manager because uh-they mentioned also attending up to two city council meetings, and
I don't recall them ever doing that. But I'd- I'd like to see that. I'd like to see better
communication between the Council,the City, and uh-the lobbyists. That's all.
Jones: Yeah. I can speak to that uh-just a bit because um- I'm actually going to be the one that's
going to be focused out of the City Manager's Office working with the-the state
lobbyists.
Taylor: Okay, good.
Jones: So we will have an opportunity to have some legila- legislative priorities that the Council
will vote on. I think this is something that has been done in the past, and so we will be
looking at that and uh-there'll be, from what I understand,pretty robust communications
uh- during the legislative uh- session uh-with the City Manager's Office and the
consultant so-
Taylor: Thank you. That's all.
Teague: All right. Any other discussion by Council?Hearing none,roll-call,please. [Roll Call]
Motion passes 7 - 0.
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8. Community Comment
Teague: We're on to item number 8,which is community comment. This is an opportunity for
anyone to come up and speak about a topic that is not listed on our agenda. We will allow
three minutes for each person to speak. If you're online,please raise your hand and in-
person there is a sticker in the back. If you want to fill it out or you can,yep,place it in
the basket, or there's a sign-in sheet at the desk or the podium. Welcome. Please give us
your name and the city you're from.
Kretkowski: Great. Thank you. Amy Kretkowski. Here, from Iowa City, again,to express my
ongoing continued support for keeping the current design of City Park Pool. I have
another letter that I would like to give to you uh- if- if I could- it's- it's wet. Um- it was in
my bag and the water bottle- so you can just pretend that it's been swimming, it's sort of
appropriate. But I apologize if you'd like me to send you some non wet copies, I'll be
happy to do that. Um- I just- I- I keep coming back to these meetings and this one-way
communication process is just- it's a little frustrating. And given the community um-
output of support for all the pools, I think it would be a really-really great idea if the
Council,Parks and Rec, or whomever can explain what is-what the process is or where
we're at in the process,what's going to happen next when things are going to be voted on,
because rumors are- are abounding, and I know you can't,you know,respond to me,but I
did- I've sent three letters now to the City Council. I have- I've emailed,uh-people, I've
spoken to a few of you. I sent emails out to,um- the rest of the City Council who I had
not yet spoken to. I haven't heard back. That's fine,we're all very busy. I totally get it, but
it'll be really great, um- for the community to understand exactly what's going on. And
this-what this letter gets into is something that I mentioned at the last council meeting,
which is that I think you're making a very-very big important decision for something
that's going to impact this community and it doesn't seem to me, from the information
that I've read,that you have all the information you need in order to make a- a- a
responsible decision. It seems to me that we don't really know exactly what's wrong with
the City Park Pool. So instead of just throwing the whole pool out,maybe a little bit more
work is done to try to-you know,needs to be done to-to figure out exactly what's going
on with the pool. That's all. Thank you.
Teague: Thank you. Can I get a motion to accept correspondence?
Weiner: So move.
Taylor: Second.
Teague: Moved by Weiner, seconded by Taylor. All in favor say, aye. [Voice Vote] Aye.
Any oppose motion?Passes 7 - 0. Would anyone else like to make a comment during this time
on any agenda item or on any item that is not on our agenda. If you're online,please raise your
hand. Seeing no one online or in-person...
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9. Planning& Zoning Matters
9.a. Rezoning Cardinal Heights—Ordinance conditionally rezoned
approximately 27.68 acres of property located east of Camp Cardinal Blvd and west
of Camp Cardinal Rd from Interim Development—Research Park (ID-RP) Zone to
Low Density Multi-Family Zone with a Planned Development Overlay (OPD/RM-
12). (Pass & Adopt)
Teague: We're gonna move on to item number 9,which are planning and zoning matters in 9.a as
a rezoning Cardinal Heights. This ordinance conditionally rezoning approximately 27.60
acres of property located east of Camp Cardinal Boulevard and west of Camp Cardinal
Road from Interim Development Research Park zone,to Low Density,Multi-family zone
with a plan development overlay. And can I get a motion to pass and adopt?
"Thomas: So move, Thomas.
Bergus: Second,Bergus.
Teague: All right. Anyone from the public who would like to address this topic? If you're online,
please raise your hand, in-person please step to the podium. Seeing no one, council
discussion.
Taylor: I'd just like to comment again on- on this item is, I believe that as members of the City
Council,uh- I've heard many of you over time,uh- say how important it is for you to hear
from your constituents. Uh-you would like them to know and feel that their-their voice
matters and that you're listening to them. And I believe that it's a critical part of being an
elected official to be able to listen to what is being said. Uh- and we offer many ways for
the public to offer their input, listening posts,public hearings,public comment,time
during council meetings and commission meetings,various surveys and of course,
emails, letters, and phone calls. And for the most part, I- I feel that this is an appropriate
development,uh- for this area and I'm happy to see growth on the west side. Uh-
however, I don't feel that the concerns raised by the nearby residents were adequately
addressed. They raised many vali-valid concerns, and it was not,uh-not stated that it
was NIMBY. We've heard that many times, several projects about"not in my backyard,"
but they did not say that. They didn't have that kind of attitude,uh-nor were they
primarily concerned about their property values. Uh-they focused on concerns about the
storm water drainage and reduction of the woodlands. And frankly, I'm concerned about
the loss of woodlands. The developer admits to a drastic removal of woodland that
impacts 55.8 percent, 12.8 acres out of 22.9 acres would be removed. Um- and I would
be willing to accept this development subject to changes that eliminate the development
on the north slope,which would preserve those woodlands,uh-which would then show
some environmental responsibility on the part of the developer. And I would ask my
fellow council members to please listen to these concerns raised by these community
members and pause this development,uh-until their concerns can be adequately
addressed. That's all.
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Teague: Thank you. Any other comments?Roll-call,please? [Roll Call] Yes. Motion passes 6-1.
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9.b Preliminary Plat,Planned Development Overlay,& Sensitive Areas
Development Plan—Cardinal Heights
Teague: All right, so we are on to Item number 9.b,which is a preliminary plat planned
development overlay and sensitive areas development plan, Cardinal Heights. Resolution,
approving the preliminary plat,plan development overlay in sensitive areas development
plan of the Cardinal Heights Subdivision, Iowa City, Iowa. Can I get a motion to
approve?
Alter: So moved.
Harmsen: Second,Harmsen.
Teague: Moved by Alter, seconded by Harmsen, and we're going to welcome Danielle.
Sitzman: Thank you,Mayor and Council. Danielle Sitzman Neighborhood and Development
Services. I'll just have a brief presentation. This particular application goes along with the
one,uh,the rezoning that you just completed a moment ago. It's the preliminary plat for
the area bounded in white outline here. Again,the applicant is Navigate Homes and they
have been requesting the rezoning, and now this (mals-the subdivision of this, and so the
plating of this into card- into Cardinal point heights. Um,that would eventually allow for
the development of 44 attached single-family homes or duplexes. Four townhome
apartments on one lot and a multi-family apartment,uh, consisting approxi-of
approximately 30 units. The proposed preliminary plat contains the lots to facilitate that
development. This is,uh, showing the plat oriented north-south as we are kind of
accustomed to seeing, even though most of their submittal was more of an east-west
orientation. Um, it does show the development of the street network connecting to
existing road network to the west,uh, allowing for future connection to the east.No real
connections to the north and south due to the,um, location of sensitive features, as was
mentioned woodlands, and the fact that the development to the north of it did not leave
any,uh, stub streets to connect to, and it has already developed with the loop street to the
north. Um, again,here's the same subdivision tilted now, so that the north is to the left-
hand side. Um,just talking a little bit about cul-de-sacs. While the comprehensive plan in
our subdivision,uh,the ordinances do discourage cul-de-sacs,they do allow for them in
certain circumstances,primarily when it can be demonstrated that there is a reason,um,
not to disturb other areas with a street cut through. Um,many areas where there's
environmental constraints like sensitive areas or limitations connecting to other streets, as
I've mentioned,no real need to connect to,uh,to the north when there's not a stub street
to connect to. Um,the design of this cul-de-sac was within the length,uh, limits,there's a
900-foot limit on cul-de-sacs,um, and length when they do occur,this one is only 560
feet in length. When we review subdivisions,we look at comprehensive plan compliance
as well as any conditions that were included in a rezoning, in this case the rezoning that
just occurred, and then as we do- also review the ordinances for subdivision,uh, design.
This has been found to be consistent with the comprehensive plan as part of that rezoning
process. The density of development here is much lower than the comprehensive plan
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envisions,primarily because of those sensitive features and avoiding them,um, in
orienting dev- development away from those. Talking about conditions that have been
placed,there was only one condition on that rezoning that just occurred. It had to do with
cost-sharing for future road improvements, and that would be accomplished in the future
with,uh,payment of those fees before issuance of building permit. And we also review
the bill,the primary-the preliminary plat subdivision code,um,we've done that as part of
the rezoning and part for the open space and the design of the,um, overlay district plan.
So I won't get into that. And just to highlight that we are here at the green segment in the
development process having completed the rezoning,now,this is the preliminary plat. It
would be followed eventually with the final plat, it would come to Council, and then
eventually staff review of site,um, site plans for the multifamily developments and then
issuance of building permits. So based on a review of the relevant criteria for
subdivisions, staff did recommend approval with no conditions. Uh,the Planning and
Zoning Commission concurred with that and also supported,uh, a recommendation of
approval from their August 3rd meeting. That concludes staff report and I'm happy to
answer questions.
Teague: Hearing none. Thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so,
please step forward at this time. If you're online,please raise your hand. Seeing no one.
Council discussion. Roll call,please. [Roll Call.] All right. Motion passes 6-1.
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10. Rohret South Trunk Sanitary Sewer—Resolution authrorizing the acquisition of
property interst necessary for construction of Rohret South Truck Sanitary Sewer
Project
1. Public Hearing
Teague: Item Number 10 is Rohret South Trunk Sanitary Sewer. Resolution authorizing the
acquisition of property interest necessary for construction of the Rohret South Trunk
Sanitary Sewer project. And I'm going to open the public hearing and I'm going to
welcome my staff. Welcome,Joe.
Welter: Joe Welter from engineering, and I'm the Project Engineer on this project. So I'll just
walk you through the,um, a little bit about the project overall, and then we'll talk about
the property acquisition. So this project is located from,uh, almost,uh, at Kiwanis Park,
uh,Abbey and Barry. It's going to go down Abbey Lane across Mormon Trek Boulevard
along an existing sewer easement that,uh, is south of Rushmore Drive, and then will
cross,uh,under Highway 218. Uh,this project generally includes,uh, about a half-mile
of 30-inch diameter,uh,trunk sewer. We'll be using trenchless construction underneath
the highway,uh,per the DOTS recommendation. We'll have new,uh, sanitary manholes,
new sanitary sewer service connections on Abbey and along the permanent easement on
the west side of Mormon Trek. We'll be abandoning the old collection line that was on
Abbey. Uh, storm sewer pipe, as well as water main features and,uh, storm inlets will all
be improved. The street will be completely replaced on Abbey, and a big,uh,portion of
the,uh, fust part of Rushmore will also be replaced. We'll have driveway apron
replacements,uh, several sidewalk improvements. Uh, so to get access to the west side of
Highway 218,we cannot access it off of the DOT properties,the-the grades on the side
of the highway plus the restrictions of use of the highway don't allow us to do that. We do
need access to both sides of the highway to be able to set our materials on one side,be
able to bore through and then pull the new pipe through,um,the casing,uh, install the
casing and then install the new sewer pipe. And so we have been in contact with,um,the,
uh, Steve Carson,the Carson family as well as, um,Alan, uh,Development that owns
this property now, and,uh,they suggested the route that we're taking,uh,that's
highlighted here in blue. The-the blue rectangle,uh,towards the highway,that's the
laydown area we'll be proposing, and then the final area there is the area for the
contractor to be able to set up their equipment to do the directional,uh,the boring and the
directional drilling across the-the highway. It's just kind of another look at the exact
same thing,but it- it- it highlights that path that we're taking for the temporary easement.
Again,this is required because it's ag- it's agricultural land, and we're doing an
acquisition on that. Just a little bit about the schedule. So a lot of this is,um, still a little
bit up in the air,but we would be aiming towards the late fall or early winter bid on this.
We would like to start construction in April and finish in November, so- and Strand and
Associates has been our design engineer on this. So that ends my presentation.
Weiner: Um, could you please, sort of, give, er, everyone a sense of the-the-the contact that
you've already had because I know it's been extensive with the homeowners in the area?
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Welter: Yeah. So this is particularly this item's about the-the agricultural land,but we have,um,
to answer your question on the other properties, so we-we have been on this property,
we've been-we've been in contact with both the Carson Family as well as Jesse Allen.
Uh, on the east side of the highway,uh,west of Mormon Trek is the Mormon Trek
Village Condominiums Association,Homeowners Association. We've had,uh, several
meetings with them. Two of them have been on-site,uh,two of them have been virtual,
uh, so they've been invited to,uh,both of the public information meetings that we've had
for all of the neighbors on this project. Uh,there is only one temporary easement that's
along Abbey, and that was at the request of that particular property owner. They
requested us to extend their private sewer up into past where our permanent easement
goes to accommodate avoiding,uh, a large pin oak tree in their- in their yard. So that-
that was at the request of that particular property owner.
Weiner: Thank you very much.
Welter: Yeah.
Bergus: Joe, for the,um,route of the easement that's through the agricultural land you
mentioned,that-that was kind of recommended by the landowners. Can you just speak to
what types of factors are involved in locating that?
Welter: It's pretty much the ridge.
Bergus: Okay.
Welter: So there's a divide in the property and they wanted us to stay up on the drier,the high
ground is going to be drier. Um,they're also going to be,uh, looking at,um, doing some
work on that property at some point, and this-this aligned with some of the-the areas that
they were going to be doing some of their- doing some of their work,uh,maybe starting
next year. I don't know that. Again,they have to go through a process to get to that point.
Bergus: Okay.
Welter: They're not quite there yet.
Bergus: Because this is just for kind of driving our equipment in and out to get to the West side
of the highway?
Welter: Exactly,yeah. Trucks and equipment,uh, I imagine some of it they'll be unloading,um,
at the very entrance and driving it in other things,they'll have to drive all the way down
to unload,uh,the pipe and,um,the rock and,um,material that they're going to have to
get down there.
Bergus: Great,thank you.
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Alter: One of the themes that we've had tonight is talking about supply chain issues. Does you-
do you have any concerns about the timeline that is in place right now?
Welter: I think- I think we're all concerned about that.
Alter: Yeah.
Welter: Um,the particular materials that we-we're using at this point,we're- we're not-we're not
getting any sense of that we're not going to be able to get those materials. Uh,we
specifically went away from certain materials that we were considering because they're
just not available. So the materials that we're using,uh, generally are,uh,pretty readily
accessible. Um, so there's always a chance.
Alter: Yeah.
Welter: That-that won't be the case. We- we do have a long construction window for this.
Neither designer nor the city staff thinks it's going to take from April till November
necessarily. But we give longer timeframes- fust to get a little better bid so that the
contractor has some flexibility when they want to fit that in. Uh, and the second would be
if we do get some delays at the front end,we still have a good window of opportunity in
the late spring, summer, and early fall to still get this done.
Alter: Thank you.
Welter: Yeah.
Alter: Appreciate it.
Teague: Thank you.
Welter: Thank you.
Teague: Anyone from the public like to address this topic if you're online,please raise your
hand. If you're in the auditorium,please come forth. Seeing no one, I'm going to close the
public hearing. Can I get a motion to approve,please?
Bergus: So moved Bergus.
Alter: Second Alter.
Teague: Council discussion.
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Weiner: It's- this-this is really essential to,um,to the possibility of further development on the
West side. It's sort of the gateway to-to more development. It's not just- it's- it's been and
I think it's been in a planning for a long time.
Teague: Roll call,please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7-0.
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12. Council Appointments
12.a. Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission—Two vacancies to fill
unexpired terms,effective upon appointment—June 30,2023.
Teague: We're at item number 12,was it-which is council appointments. Applicants must reside
in Iowa City and be 18 years of age unless specific qualifications are stated, 12.a is Ad
Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation
Commission has two vacancies to fill unexpried terms effective upon appointment
through June 30th, 2023,uh, correspondence,um,yeah. All right, so can I get a motion to
accept correspondence?
Taylor: I'll move, Taylor.
Bergus: Second Bergus.
Teague: All in favor say aye. (voice vote)Aye. Any oppose?Motion passes 7-0. Council
discussion about appointments we had,um, and I- I guess I- I- I kind of want to just say
that,um,we have 2,4, 6 applicants. Um, and Council,we know that we had our recent,
um,resignation. So we could actually go forth with two individuals should we choose, or
if we wanted to only go with the one,um,then I think we probably need to make that
clarification now and- and maybe get more individuals or more applicants time. So are
we wanting to go with two applicants at this time or see how everything plays out with
who we promote fust.
Taylor: I can appreciate wanting to give folks some more time to be aware that we have the
second vacancy. But I'm also aware of the fact that- that this poor commission has just
had so many obstacles and roadblocks and- and we really need to-to get them in full
swing. And so I would be,uh, in favor of doing the two at this time.
Teague: Okay.
Weiner: I- I- I would- I would concur. And then we also have some really good applicants or it's
not like we're-we're sort of struggling with,um, no one who appears qualified.
Teague: So I here two going forward, is there any other thoughts on the other way?Yeah, I- I- I
don't have strong feelings either way. I think,um,your-your fust statement was,you
know, allow more-more individuals time to recognize that there is an opening. Um,but
I'm- I'm okay with,uh, seeing if we- there's two individuals at least that I- I thought
would be great. But let's see where people are.
Weiner: The one name that- I- I-there are a number of people I would actually be interested in,
but the one name that-that was the strongest- one of the strongest to me was Marie
Krebs.
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Alter: Um, I agree with that.
Weiner; That's a really, really strong background also comes with some strong recommendation.
Taylor: Um, I agree and she was recommended by Christina Nobiss,who's a current commission
member and I think that always speaks highly of the current commission member feels
that,uh-that strongly about someone that they think they can work with them. So I- I
would agree Marie would be a great fit.
Harmsen: I agree.
Alter: As do I.
Teague: Okay. Marie Krebs sounds like she has a majority. Um, anyone else?
Alter: There were a couple of others,but one person who I thought could be,um, an interesting
and- and good fit on the commission was Lauren Merritt.
Teague: I- I'd had her as an option, a great option.
Alter: Yeah. I think she has an uh, interesting background. I think that um, additionally,um,you
know, she has clearly,you know,had uh, a long-time career and I think that that could
speak well to,um,kind of the current dynamic. Um,to-to sort of bring,you know, again,
get er, an additional perspective um, of someone who has a lot of experience um, in civil
service, and um, I think that she would be very good.
Teague: Any other thoughts? So we've heard about Marie and I- I do support Lauren. Um, any
other individuals?
Weiner: I support Lauren as well?
Taylor: I can support Lauren. I like Catherine Tran, sound like she would be a really good fit also
but,uh, I- I- I would go with Lauren if everyone else is.
Harmsen: Actually I-you know, I saw a shout out to her honorable mention for Saranya
Subramanian. If I pronounced that correctly,who did I think put on there the choice was
for HCDC anyway. So that might be something to keep in mind, should we have an
opening on that particular commission.
Teague: And yeah, she was one of my selections as well. All right. It sounds like we do have
majority support for Marie Krebs and Lauren Merritt as I'm looking side-by-side. And
could I get a motion to appoint.Now, let me see what their term limits are, oh,they're all
on the same term limit. Yes. All right. So can I get a motion to appoint Marie Krebs and
Lauren Merritt to the ad hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
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Taylor: So moved.
Weiner: [OVERLAPPING] Second.
Taylor: Moved by Taylor, seconded by Weiner. All in favor say aye. (voice vote)
[OVERLAPPING] Aye. Any oppose?Motion passes 7-0.
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15. City Council Information
Teague: And we are at item Number 15,which is city council information, and we can give any
board updates or any,um,thing that is,uh, for the good of the public.
Harmsen: Mr. Mayor,uh, I had the opportunity to fill in on the ECICOG meeting this past week.
Uh, it was a fairly short meeting,uh,but a couple of things that jumped out that I think
that would be nice for the council members to have on their radar,uh,mostly involved
issues with transportation and transit,um- transit sorts of issues. So there are some,uh-
some federal bills that are,uh,they've gotten approval,but they're working through some
of the,uh,you know,the details which always takes a little bit of time. Some stuff that
have to do with some safe streets,uh, initiatives,uh,which,uh, are designed to,um,
lower fatalities on roadways. So there might be something,uh, in the near future for if we
have road projects or street projects that involve,uh,you know,reconfiguring,
reengineering,uh, dangerous intersections. Uh,the other one,uh, involved some of the-
some of the new bills,um,that have been moving through at the federal level that involve
a support for more e-charging stations. I think there's just made some headlines recently.
Uh, again, all the details of those are- are not,um,you know,hammered out yet. Uh,but
we do know that there'll be some priority given to,uh, certain corridors. I80-I380,uh,
other interstates in Iowa,but those are,you know,the ones that affect us most directly,
uh,within the near proximity. Um,they think the anticipation is that a lot of those
requests for grants will come from private business owners. Caseys,Kum &Go,Kwik
Star, those kinds of things. Uh,but there may also be some opportunities for other entities
such as local government to,um, apply for some funding to put in charging stations. So
that might be,uh- again, all those details are not available yet,but those are things that,
uh,ECICOG staff so they were looking into and so it's not a bad thing to have on our
radar screen. That's all.
Weiner: So we had a- a meeting of the-the JECC Board. The- one of the,um,they have been-
the head of JECC has been coordinating with,um, Sarah Nelson of CommUnity to as
both before the rollout of the 988 number and continuing. And they hope in the near
future to also be able to have some community staff sit in with their-with their
dispatchers to start-to start understanding how this would all work. So there's,uh, it's
not- it's not a- it's not-they're not paired up yet,but they're in communication and will
continue to be.
Teague: Well, I'll give a- a quick little update. Last week,um, our Deputy City Manager and I
were in Waterloo. And we just got back on Friday from being at the Iowa League of
Cities. It was a great opportunity not only,um, for information,which was an information
overload, but just,uh,to be amongst other city elected officials as well as staff from
other cities and have some great conversations. Um, I did do a tour where we went
through the neighborhoods and saw,um, it was really their affordable housing tour and
there was a lot of great takeaways. They had ,there were information sessions. There
were a lot of topics, some of which we would anticipate would have been a part of it,
which was childcare. That's something that a lot of people chimed in on,both large and
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small cities that had conversations about what can we expect not only from um,the
Governor,um,you know the-the State,but also what are some of the things that we can
anticipate coming from federal, local government and even,um,what are ways that we
can be more innovative. Childcare- childcare workers, of course,rose to the top of one of
the things that we need to address. But it was a great opportunity to,um,hear a lot from
different presenters. The other thing is that they always have their legislative priorities
that they kinda put beforeth-before,um, our legislators. There's nothing too surprising
and I'm not gonna go through it now because,um,there's actually two sets where part of
the-the Metro Coalition,which they,uh, also did their legislative priorities. And Iowa
League of Cities and what typically happens,because I know Councilor Taylor brought
this up. The Council will get to set our city legislative agenda. Typically,we do that
November, definitely by December. Oftentimes pre-COVID,we would have invited our
legislators here to just have a conversation as well. That opportunity still might um,you
know,present itself this time around,but it was great. I would encourage people to-,um,
if- if your schedule will allow it to maybe next year,uh,mark your calendar to attend the
next years Iowa League of Cities whether you're going to remain on Council or not. I
think there's a lot,um,because I know we'll have another election; but I think there's a
lot to gain from those opportunities. While I'm talking about just opportunities,the Iowa
I'm sorry, in Washington DC, I do go to- at the end of January, and that is to the Mayors
Innovation Project. It sound like it's just for mayors,but it's not. It's for elected officials
and so I would encourage any individual to connect with,uh, our City Clerk Kellie,um,
about that opportunity because it's just a lot of great things happening when you're getting
around and listening to what other cities are doing that are so innovative. And I'll tell you
that we have a lot of things that we can share as well on some of the things that we're
doing here. So just keep an eye out for some of these opportunities, and I hope that in the
future we'll have a little more uh,participation.
Weiner;You're also gonna mention the gala last week?
Teague: Yeah.
Weiner: Yes. Go ahead.
Teague: Yes. Yes. So there were,um - so on last Thursday while we were doing double duty,
one in Waterloo,uh,both Redmond and I and Councilor Weiner,um, and some City
staff,we also had some,uh, commission members and other members of the public that
represented the City at the African-American Museum. Um, I'm gonna blank on the
name. History Makers Gala. And our very own,uh, fust,uh, African-American mayor,
Ross Wilburn,was,um-he made-he made,uh-he made history, and he was-was-he
received a reward. There were other people from our community that also received this
award. It was a beautiful event,well attended. It was packed. The spirits were high, and it
was just a great way to celebrate people throughout the state that are making great
change,that are African-American.
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Alter: It's an incredibly busy couple of weeks, I think, for the entire community. Um,but I'm
really happy to say that I got to represent the City at the Johnson County Affordable
Housing Coalition and talk about the great things that we're doing,um, in terms of our
affordable housing solutions. And,um, it was just an amazing experience to be able to
sort of sit there and talk about the multiple kinds of projects and- and ways that we're
trying to address affordable housing. It is both a source of frustration because we need it
so much,but there is a lot that we can be proud of And so it was a really cool moment to
be able to represent Iowa City in that way and to talk about what we have done as a
council and in partnership with-with,uh,people who are out there doing the work every
day. So that was a really wonderful opportunity. Um, additionally,uh,the Iowa Women's
Foundation had their annual luncheon and it was fantastic because this was 25 years that
the IWF has been giving out grants for,um, different non-profits that are there to help
strengthen and bolster women and girls in Iowa. This was also the 50th anniversary of
Title IX and as a part of that,um, the entire luncheon was there to celebrate the life and
legacy of Dr. Christine Grant and her last doctoral student,who is now,um, the director
of Diversity and Inclusion for the NCAA was able to speak and I believe her name is Dr.
Kimberly Miller. I may be wrong on that,but um, it was a lovely,really heartwarming
and also just empowering and important luncheon,because you could just see how every
year the grind goes on. And,um,this organization really has put so many people to the-
um,helped so many people become aware of obstacles and challenges and you had
opportunities for women and girls in Iowa. So that was a really wonderful thing and I got
to actually speak with and hang out with staff in a more informal way than this kind of a
setup. And so that was another really great opportunity. And then my final bit too is then
later that evening,the City of Literature right now is in the middle of their two-week
Book Festival,which is longer than it's ever been before,but they had so many events
they stretched it out. So kudos to John Kenyon and staff for the work that they're putting
in on this. Um, I went to the Paul Engle Award Reception and talk that was with Rebecca
Slotnick,who is a absolute pioneer and warrior, a climate warrior. Um, so much of the
work that she does now, she said is very deliberately, it is everything that she does now is
with this eye on this decade of what she calls decision-making for the climate. And so
she's a very staunch, strong advocate and it was really exceptional to-to hear her speak.
Um,the book festival is actually going on through October 13th. So,um, anybody who
loves literature and hearing people talk about literature, check the events and go partake.
Weiner: There was also the Gala for the Center for Worker Justice,which is also a really lovely
events, so celebrating 10 years of- of their existence and work for the community and
work for the-those particularly who have suffered from wage theft and various other
similar issues. So- and featured our former Mayor Pro Tem, obviously.
Teague: All right,hearing nothing else, so we're going to move on.
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17. Adjournment
Teague: Item Number 17 is adjournment. Can I get a motion to adjourn,please?
[OVERLAPPING]
Harmsen: So moved,Harmsen.
Taylor: Second, Taylor.
Teague: All right. Moved by Harmsen and seconded by Taylor. All in favor say aye. (Voice
vote)Aye. Any oppose?We are adjourned.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
formal meeting of October 3, 2022.